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Crossdressing is a theme in fanworks and in canon[1] wherein a character dresses as a member of a different sex or gender.

In canon, it is often used comedically, as a plot device and as a kink, both sexualized and not. It can be used for comedy or for kink in fanworks as well, but can also be portrayed seriously as an aspect of a character's gender identity or expression.

In some cases, a character is actually trying to pass as a member of the other sex and fool people. This is often seen in stories of women dressing as men to take a job or take part in some adventure that would otherwise be denied them. Coffee Prince uses the trope as its main plot device, as does Ouran High School Host Club and a lot of Shakespeare comedies. In other cases, the character crossdresses only occasionally, either for some plot-related reason or as part of kink play.

The phrase cross-dressing for justice usually refers to works in which the character is undercover as a woman in order to FIGHT CRIME. It may have originated in DC Comics fandom, where people cross-dress for justice a lot.

Torchwood: It Creeps Up On You by pocketmouse. She finds it hard to flat-out ask, out of nowhere. It reduces her to stammering and stuttering, and she hates that. The easiest way is to just trick herself into saying it, make herself believe it’s something casual, when really she’s going to say “I want to see you in a skirt.” Words: 11,558 Pairing: Owen/Toshiko